The Dog
by Racing Capybaras
Summary: Zane wants a dog. Jo doesn't. It's a battle of the wills...


**Written as a combination of Cherry0208's Challenge #3 and AugustMist's Challenge #4**

**Disclaimer-I don't own _Eureka, Harry Potter, All the President's Men, or The X-Files. _Not that I wouldn't like to...  
**

* * *

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Jo glared at Zane as she made her position clear. Zane was lying on the floor in her garage, playing with, of all things, a dog. Zane had been on a business trip in Seattle for a week, and had come back with a stray dog. According to him, he had found him outside of the hotel, digging in a dumpster tying to find food. Zane had smuggled the dog into the hotel and fallen in love with him. Now he wanted to keep the dog.

"Come on, Jo. Please?" Zane begged. The dog stood up and began to hump Jo's leg. Zane smirked. "Look, see? He likes you."

Jo shook and dog off her leg and looked at Zane in disgust. "No, Zane. We are not getting a dog." Zane pouted up at Jo, patting the dog on its head. "Look at him. " She continued. "He's dirty and smelly and has God-knows-how-many diseases."

It was true. The dog was filthy, and he was making the garage smell. As if to further illustrate her point, the dog began to scratch himself vigorously.

Zane shook his head. "All that means is that he needs a bath and a trip to the vet." He looked up at Jo, who was still staring down at him and the dog skeptically. "He needs a family. We're perfect for him. We can work our schedules around him. You can take him on runs, and I can walk him during the day. Please?" Zane finished, begging desperately.

"Zane, no." Jo said firmly. "You can keep him in here tonight, but I want him gone tomorrow morning. I'm going to bed. Are you coming?"

Zane looked sadly down at the small black dog. "I think I'll stay with him tonight. I don't want him to be alone."

"Suit yourself," Jo said, rolling her eyes and walking back into the house. She closed the door, plunging Zane and the dog into darkness.

"Don't worry, buddy." Zane whispered softly to the dog. "I'm not giving you up. We'll find a way to convince Jo. We have to."

* * *

Jo woke up the next morning feeling guilty. She wanted Zane to be happy, she just didn't want a dog. Especially a mangy stray.

She quickly got dressed for her run and walked out to the basement. She would apologize to Zane, then go for a quick run and come home in time for them to go to breakfast at Café Diem. Jo nodded to herself. It was a good plan. Hopefully one that would make Zane forget about the dog.

She opened the door to the garage. Zane and the dog were gone. There was a small note next to the door. Jo picked it up and read it to herself:

"_Jo,_

_I'm not giving up the dog. If you don't want him, then I'll keep him at my place._

_Love, Zane and Plato_

_P.S. I'm trying out different names. What do you think_?"

Jo crushed the note in her fist. Zane was not keeping that dog. This was going to get ugly.

* * *

"Male German Shepherd, black, 20 inches high, 50 pounds." Taggart stated as he examined the dog. "He seems to be in good health, despite the conditions you found him in."

"Good," Zane said, "there's no way Jo will ever let me keep him otherwise."

"Mmm hmmmm." Taggart replied as he continued his examination. "I heard about that. Jo's a stubborn one. Pushing her too hard is inadvisable. Good luck convincing her. Especially with this one," he said, looking up at Zane, "he's a bit gawky now, but when he gets older he's going to be huge. He'll eat you out of house and home."

Zane sighed. That wasn't good. Especially considering the phone call he had received from Jo earlier. She had made it clear that she was not keeping the dog.

"You're all set, mate. Bring him back for the second round of vaccinations next week." Taggart said as he fastened the collar over the dog's neck.

"Thanks, Taggart." Zane replied. He whistled to the dog, who immediately jumped down and walked over to him. Together they left Taggart's lab.

"See," Zane said to the dog. "You're looking better already. Maybe we'll let Jo take another look at you now."

The dog barked in agreement, his tail thumping wildly.

Zane grinned. How could Jo not love this dog? Even Taggart had said that he "exhibited high degrees of intelligence and cooperation", which Zane took to mean that he was smart and friendly. The perfect dog.

Zane frowned as he opened his car door for the dog. The perfect dog needed a name. Zane brainstormed as he drove home. Seattle, where he had been found? Jupiter? He was going to be a big dog, after all. Jefferson? _Nah_, thought Zane. Then they would end up calling him Jeff for short.

In the back of the car, the still-unamed dog barked. Zane looked in the rearview mirror and smiled at him. He loved this dog, and he was going to find a way to make things work.

* * *

Things didn't work out as Zane had planned. Jo stuck to her guns and refused to keep the dog, even after Zane had showed her how nice he looked once he was cleaned up. She wouldn't even stay in the same house as him. Zane was forced to leave the dog at his apartment. If he wanted to see Jo, he had to drive to her house. The entire situation was complicated beyond belief. Zane quickly found himself growing tired of it.

In the meantime, Zane worked on training the dog. Taggart had been right-the dog was very intelligent. He caught onto new concepts quickly and was willing to do whatever was asked of him. Taggart had also been right about the dogs size. He was huge. Zane was having trouble keeping control over him. He wished that he had Jo to help him.

After a month, Zane decided that he had had enough. He had to find some way to convince Jo to accept the dog. There had to be a way. He just didn't know what it was.

* * *

Jo set the cartons of takeout down on her coffee table and settled on the couch. She and Zane were going to spend the night together for the first time in weeks. They hadn't done anything lately because Zane always had to go home to check on the dog. Jo missed him, and wanted everything tonight to be perfect.

She heard Zane's car pull up and him opening the door. Then she heard the dog. He bounded down the steps like a tornado and reached Jo before Zane did.

"Sorry," said Zane, pulling the dog off Jo, "but I didn't want to leave him alone tonight."

Jo stood up and glared at Zane. The two of them were supposed to have a relaxing, romantic night. She didn't want to share it with a dog.

"You're over-complicating things. It'll be fun." Zane continued, sitting down on the couch. "He'll stay on the floor, and you can help me think of a name for him."

Jo glowered at Zane. The dog was not in her plans for the night. Still, she wanted to spend time with Zane. Jo weighed the options. It didn't really look like she had a choice.

"Fine." She said reluctantly as she slid the movie into her DVD player. "But he stays on the floor. First sign of any fleas, shedding, or furniture chewing and you're both out."

Zane smiled triumphantly and dug into his food. The dog mirrored his excitement by barking and chasing his tail in circles.

Jo almost smiled at this. The dog reminded her of Zane in some ways. And she had to admit that he was a little more appealing now that he was clean.

Jo sat down silently next to Zane. She ate slowly, making sure that she never looked at the dog. She was not going to make the mistake of smiling at him in front of Zane. That would only encourage Zane more. Instead, she focused on the movie.

* * *

Zane shifted his position on the couch and sighed. The night wasn't going as well as he had imagined. He had hoped that after a month of avoiding him and the dog, Jo would finally see reason. He had been very, very wrong. Other than permitting the dog to stay, Jo hadn't acknowledged him all night. She had ignored Zane's prompts to help him name the dog and instead feigned interest in the movie.

He looked over at Jo. She had fallen asleep. Zane reached for the remote and pressed stop. Carefully, he put some of the leftover chicken on a plate and pushed it across the coffee table. He glanced over at Jo worriedly . If she woke up and saw him, she would kill him for sure.

The dog ran over and began to eat. Loudly. Zane glanced back and forth between him and Jo. The dog hadn't woken her. Zane sighed in relief.

Zane rolled over and closed his eyes. Tonight had been disappointing, but a start. At least he finally got his dog and girlfriend under the same roof.

* * *

Jo woke to the sound of frantic scratching. For a moment, she didn't realize what she was hearing. Then she remembered. _The dog._

Furious, she kicked Zane in an attempt to wake him. It was his dog. He should have to take care of it.

The dog scratched harder and began to whine. Jo groaned as she looked down at the still sleeping Zane. He would pay for this later. Then she spotted the plate on the opposite end of the table. Zane was _definitely_ going to pay. She pushed herself off the couch and walked over to the door to let the dog out of the basement. She gasped as she saw the door. The dog had been scratching so hard that he had damaged the paint.

Fuming, Jo opened the door and followed the dog up the short staircase to let him out the back door. She stopped short at the door. She couldn't let the dog go out alone, for the sake of her and her neighbors' yards. But it was cold outside and she didn't have her jacket. Jo glared down at the dog, who continued to bark wildly. This was all Zane's fault. If she froze to death, it was on him.

Jo let the dog out and stepped outside. Strangely, it wasn't too cold. She was distracted from her thoughts by the dog's continuous barking.

"What now?" She grumbled at the dog. "I let you out, didn't I? What do you want?"

The dog continued to bark and ran in the direction of her neighbors' house. Jo chased after him. She spotted him by the fence, and went over to drag him back into the house. Then she saw what the dog had been barking at. Her neighbors' house was on fire.

* * *

The next few hours passed in a blur. Jo had grabbed the dog and run back inside to call Carter and Henry. Then she had woken Zane and pulled him out of house. Henry's and Carter's arrival with sirens had woken the entire neighborhood. Henry had immediately assessed the situation and determined that it was too late to stop the fire. He could only contain it. In the meantime, Carter tried to keep people calm. Everyone was shaking and crying. All they could do was watch. So, together, everyone stood across the street and watched the house burn to the ground.

When the house was almost completely gone, people began to trickle away in groups, back towards their own, still standing houses. Zane stood listening to Henry tell Carter and Jo about the damage.

"It was an accident. Probably just a simple overuse of extension cords. Still, it caught quickly and the blaze was strong. There was nothing that you could have done."

Jo nodded numbly without looking at Henry. "They're out of town," she said softly, "and they didn't have any pets."

Zane examined Jo's face. She looked fragile and scared, very unlike her usual self. The way that her voice wavered when she spoke worried him.

"So no one was hurt." Henry concluded. "I kept anything else from catching on fire. Unfortunately, that side of your house is damaged…it's hard to say determine the extent in the dark."

They all looked up. The side of Jo's house, the one that faced her neighbors', was melted. Zane saw Jo pale and watched her eyes fill with tears. She was going to breakdown soon, whether it was in front of other people or not."

"Well, let's just be glad that Lassie was here to save the day." Carter broke in, nodding downwards at Zane's dog. "Let's call it a night and all go home. Henry can come over tomorrow to take a closer look at your house."

Henry nodded and went to pack his truck. Carter gave Jo a sympathetic look and squeezed her shoulder, then followed Henry and left.

* * *

Zane put an arm around Jo and led her back towards her house. She was still staring at the wreckage of the other house, tears spilling silently down her cheeks. Zane tugged her more forcefully until they were inside. He locked the front door sat down with Jo on the couch, his arm still around her. She hadn't spoken since she had mentioned the people being out of town. The dog walked over and rested his head on Jo's knees. She began to sob.

After a few minutes, Jo's tears slowed and she took deep, wheezing breaths. "I was so scared." She whimpered. "I kept thinking about how that could have been us."

"It could have been, but it wasn't," Zane replied quietly, pulling her closer to him. "It wasn't."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Jo spoke again.

"Zane," she said, looking up at him, "I'm sorry about how I've been acting the last few weeks. I want you to be happy. I think that we should keep the dog."

Zane's face broke into a grin. "We?" He questioned.

"Yes, we," Jo said, "as in us. Both of us. He's our dog. But he can't eat on the table again. Ever."

Zane smiled. "Agreed." Then he looked down at the dog and said, "You know, he still needs a name. I was thinking, since he informed us about the fire, we could name him Deep Throat."

Jo wrinkled her nose. "We are not naming our dog Deep Throat. I don't care how famous he was, how much of a geek you are, or how dirty your mind is."

They fell into silence, both trying to think of names. Zane had no ideas. He had been trying to name the dog for a month now without success. He was relieved when Jo spoke again.

"What about Knox?" She said. "It's the spell for putting out wand-light in _Harry Potter_, but with a "K" in front of it. In a way, he helped put out the fire. I think it suits him."

"Knox?" Zane questioned. "_Harry Potter_? Who's the geek now?" Jo glared at him. "I like it though," Zane quickly added, not wanting to anger Jo right after she agreed to keep the dog, "you're right, it does suit him."

"Good." Jo replied. Then she slid off the couch, onto the floor, and put her arms around the dog's neck. "Your name is Knox now," she whispered softly into his ear, "and we're your family. We're going to take care of you from now on…"

Zane smiled from the couch. He couldn't believe his luck. He had a girlfriend and dog, both of whom loved him. This moment was perfect. He wished it could last forever.

Since he had no power over time, he took a mental picture and joined his family on the floor.

* * *

**A/N-The house fire is based off my friend's description of her next-door-neighbors' house. It burned down early on Halloween morning.**

** Don't be insulted by the _HP_ and The- X Files geek reference. Personally, I love them both_._ But I do have a friend who _is _definitely a _HP _geek, and a father who is an _X-Files_ nerd.  
**

**Like all my stories, this was written in the middle of the night. Feel free to leave any grammatical/spelling corrections in a review.**


End file.
